Vance expresses optimism and preaches patience in Israel as ceasefire worries grow

Vice President J.D. Vance on Tuesday expressed cautious optimism that peace between Israel and Hamas will remain despite recent violence that has threatened the fragile country. US-brokered ceasefire.

“What we saw last week gives me great optimism: the ceasefire will hold, and if we get to where we were a week ago, to long-term and lasting peace between Israel and Gaza, hills and valleys await us,” Vance said at a news conference announcing the opening of a civil military cooperation center in southern Israel.

“There will be times when it doesn’t seem like things are going particularly well,” Vance added. “Can I say with 100% certainty that this will work? No, but you don't do hard things by doing only what you're 100% sure of. You do hard things by trying. And that's what the President of the United States asked us to do.”

Vance's trip to Israel comes at a difficult time. The truce between Israel and Hamas, negotiated by President Donald Trump this month, has been marked by both sides accusing each other of violating the truce. Israeli strikes And Hamas decreased trying to restore his power over the enclave.

Vance accused the American media of overreacting to the failures.

“What I'm saying is that I sense a strange attitude in the American and Western media, where there's almost the same desire to root for failure – every time something bad happens, and every time there's an act of violence, there's a tendency to say, 'Oh, this is the end of the ceasefire, this is the end of the peace plan,'” Vance said. “It's not over yet. In fact, that's what's supposed to happen when you have people who hate each other, who have been fighting against each other for a very long time. We're doing very well. We're in a very good position.”

A lasting ceasefire is key to Trump's ambitions. receiving the Nobel Peace Prizemaking Vance's efforts this week to ease tensions and show confidence potentially have implications for the legacy of the man he is likely to succeed in 2028. Hanging over the press conference was Tuesday morning, post “Truth in the social network” Trump, who wrote that Middle East allies “would welcome the opportunity, at my request, to enter the Gaza Strip with heavy forces and 'rectify [out] “Hamas, if Hamas continues to act badly, violating its agreement with us.”

“There is still hope that Hamas will do the right thing,” Trump added. “If they don't, the end of Hamas will be FAST, FURIOUS AND VIOLENT!”

Asked about the president's position, Vance stressed that “very bad things will happen” and that Hamas will be “destroyed” if it does not comply with the ceasefire.

“But I'm not going to do what the President of the United States has so far refused to do, which is set a clear timeline for this, because a lot of this is complicated,” Vance said. “So what I'm saying is I don't think it's really appropriate for us to say it has to be done in a week because a lot of this work is so hard.”

Vance added that he believes allies in the Middle East, including “our Israeli friends,” have “a certain amount of impatience with Hamas.”

“But we will continue to work through this process,” Vance said, “and we will continue to try to bring the dead hostages home, but we will also make sure that all Gazans can live in a prosperous and safe place.”

Vance was joined Tuesday by Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law. Both played key roles in the ceasefire negotiations, and Vance was sent to demonstrate the administration's commitment to the agreement.

“I want to echo what the vice president said about a lot of people getting hysterical one way or another about various incursions,” Kushner said. “But we see things moving in line… both sides are moving from two years of very intense war to a peacetime state.”

Vance described his visit in part as a fact-finding mission to help inform the U.S.'s future role in the process, rather than as a reaction to recent violence.

“It’s one thing to read about it, it’s one thing to talk to Jared and Steve on the phone about what’s happening on the ground,” the vice president said. “It’s another thing to shake someone’s hand, look them in the eyes and understand what the problems are, what do they need from me?”

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